Cannabis – An Introduction

HIT Seminar 19-6-12

Taxing the UK Cannabis Market

A recent IDMU report commissioned by CLEAR (Cannabis Law Reform) has demonstrated that the net benefit to the taxpayer of a taxed and regulated cannabis market could range from £3.4 Billion to £9.5 Billion per annum, with a best estimate of £6.7 Billion per year at recent market levels.

Cannabis Plants - Cultivation & Yields

Cannabis grown for drug content is normally grown under controlled conditions, where male and female plants are separated, allowing the female flowers to grow without producing seed (sinsemilla), and produce the most potent material.

Cannabis and Paranoia

Paranoia is a symptom long associated with use of cannabis, however conclusions as to causality need to reflect the illegal status of the drug and the techniques used by enforcement agencies to detect and punish users, such as the use of undercover officers and informants. In such an atmosphere there is a thin dividing line between self-preservation via exaggerated caution at one end of the scale and clinical paranoia at the other. However it is rare for a regular user of cannabis not to have felt paranoid, by their own reports, at some stage.

Cannabis & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Ten years ago when I first investigated links between cannabis use and PTSD there were no published human studies investigating this question. For this case a Medline search for cannabi* and ‘traumatic’ generated 100x studies (including those relating to traumatic brain injury).

Cannabis/Cannabinoids & Depression

Introduction & History

Depression is a term used to describe a variety of different disorders characterised by lowering of mood, disinterest in ones surroundings or condition, fatigue, and loss of appetite and/or personal neglect.

Cannabis & Memory Function

The effects of cannabis on short-term memory are long-established, users consistently perform worse than matched controls on laboratory tests of memory. Scientific research has focussed on the role of endocannabinoids in regulating memory processes.